• kenl posted an update in the group Group logo of CommunityCommunity 4 years, 4 months ago

    NOVEMBER 22 Reflection for the Day

    “We succeed in enterprises which demand the positive qualities we possess,” wrote de Tocqueville, “but we excel in those which can also make use of our defects.” We learn in Gamblers Anonymous that our defects do have value – to the extent that we use them as a starting point for change and a pathway to better things. Fear can be a stepping stone to prudence, for example, as well as to respect for others. Fear can also help us turn away from hate and toward understanding. In the same way, pride can lead us toward the road of humility.

    Am I aware of my direction today? Do I care where I’m going?

    Today I Pray
    I pray that my Higher Power will show me how to use my defects in a positive way, because nothing – not even fear or selfishness or greed – is all bad. May I trust that every quality that leads me into trouble has a reverse side that can lead me out. Pride, for instance, can’t puff itself up unduly without bursting and demonstrating that it is, in essence, only hot air. May I learn from my weaknesses.

    Today I Will Remember
    Good news out of bad.

    NOVEMBER 23 Reflection for the Day

    Before I came to Gamblers Anonymous, I was like an actor who insisted on writing the script, producing, directing, and, in short, running the whole show. I had to do it my way, forever trying to arrange and re-arrange the lights, lines, sets, and, most of all, the other players’ performances. If only my arrangements would stay put, and people would behave as I wished, the show would be fantastic. My self-delusion led me to believe that if they all would just shape up, everything would be fine. Of course, it never worked out that way.

    Isn’t it amazing how others seem to be “shaping up” now that I’ve stopped trying to manage everything and everybody?

    Today I Pray
    May I talk myself out of that old urge to control everything and everybody. Time was, if I couldn’t manage directly, I would do it indirectly, through manipulation, secret conferences, and asides. May I know that, if I am the one who is always pulling the strings on the marionettes, then I am also the one who feels the frustration when they collapse or slip off the stage.

    Today I Will Remember
    I can only “shape up” myself.